Tuesday, December 20, 2011

2011-12-20 "Feds Shut Down Marin Pot Club, State's Oldest; Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana quietly shuts doors" by Chris Roberts
[http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/politics/Feds-Shut-Down-Marin-Pot-Club-States-Oldest-135923288.html]
Barack Obama's Justice Department have done what top attorneys for former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton could never do -- silenced the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana.
The modest medical cannabis dispensary -- which has operated since 1996, making the Fairfax-based pot club the state's oldest -- quietly shut down over the weekend under heavy pressure from federal prosecutors, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
Marin Alliance was sent letters by U.S. Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag instructing the club to shut down or face stiff penalties, including asset forfeiture and prison terms.
The club had operated in Marin with full knowledge of local authorities and even a resolution of support from the town council in Fairfax, according to reports. But since then, the federal government began asset forfeiture proceedings against the landlord, and the founder of the club -- Lynette Shaw -- has stopped responding to press inquiries and has severed her ties with the Marin Alliance, according to reports.
It is not yet known if the federal government will continue with the asset forfeiture proceedings filed against the Orinda-based landlord.
The club was subject of lawsuits in the 1990s as well as the early 2000s.

2011-12-20 "Feds shutter Marin marijuana dispensary, oldest in state" by Richard Halstead from "Marin Independent Journal"
[www.mercurynews.com/ci_19585813]
The
Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the oldest dispensary of its kind
in the state, quietly shut down over the weekend, the victim of a
federal crackdown.
"They moved out of the premises just before 2
a.m. on Sunday morning," said Peter Goldstone, a Santa Rosa attorney who
has represented the Alliance, and its operator, Lynnette Shaw, in an
eviction proceeding that was brought by the Alliance's landlord. Shaw
could not be reached for comment.
The landlord, Farshid Ezazi of
Orinda, initiated the eviction proceeding after Melinda Haag, the San
Francisco-based U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California,
threatened to confiscate the building in which the Alliance operated at 6
School St. in Fairfax. The Fairfax dispensary is among dozens statewide
that federal prosecutors say they have targeted due to the
dispensaries' proximity to parks, schools and other facilities used by
children.
The Marin Wellness Center, a medical marijuana
dispensary at 1100 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Kentfield, is also being
forced to close by Jan. 1 due to pressure applied to its landlord by
federal authorities. A third dispensary, the Green Door Wellness
Education Center at 7586 Redwood Blvd. Suite C in Novato, is battling an
eviction proceeding brought by its landlord and is awaiting a Marin
Superior Court judge's decision after a one-day trial on the eviction
last week.
Shaw had previously said that she would seek to
continue storing thousands of patients' medical records at the School
Street site. She said she had nowhere else to put them. But Goldstone
said the records have been removed.
"My understanding is that it is what they call broom-clean, and they've turned over the keys," Goldstone said.
The
federal government began the process of confiscating the School Street
building on Nov. 18, even though Ezazi had already initiated court
action to evict the Marin Alliance. Robert Weems, Ezazi's attorney, said
his client filed court papers last week formally acknowledging
ownership of the 6 School St. property, a step he had to take if he
hopes to retain ownership. Weems said the Marin Alliance's closure
should strengthen Ezazi's case.
"We think it is significant that
possession has been returned to us," Weems said. Ezazi can now file a
motion to dismiss the forfeiture proceeding or opt for a trial, Weems
said.
Shaw, who has always shared information freely about the
Alliance's long-standing legal battles, stopped responding to questions
from the press earlier this month, saying that she was "in great danger"
and had to end her relationship with the Alliance, which she helped
found.
A message on the Alliance's website announcing the closure
states, "We are very sorry to announce that we have shut our doors until
we can resolve certain legal issues. The battle is not over, but we
must await further court action that will allow us to reopen, hopefully
within a month or two. Unfortunately, our owner and director, Lynnette
Shaw, finds it best to sever her relationship with Marin Alliance."
It
was not entirely clear why Shaw believes she can no longer be
associated with the Alliance. It may be significant, however, that the
complaint for forfeiture filed by federal prosecutors against the 6
School St. site mentions that in 2002 "the District Court issued an
order permanently enjoining the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and
Lynette Shaw from engaging in the distribution of marijuana... ."
It was also uncertain where patients who were obtaining their medical marijuana from the Marin Alliance will go now.
Fairfax
Town Manager Michael Rock said no one from the Alliance has contacted
the town about seeking an alternative site. Rock has said the Alliance
cannot legally operate a delivery service under its use permit without
an approved office in town.
Barbara Summers of Mill Valley, who
uses medical marijuana to treat sciatica, anxiety and to help her sleep,
said she is "very disappointed" that the Fairfax club closed.
"I had discovered it fairly recently, and it was saving me a trip into San Francisco," Summers said.
Summers said the federal crackdown is "bogus."
"When
Obama took office, he said he wasn't going to go after anything like
this. That wasn't how he was going to spend our tax dollars," Summers
said. "I feel like it's a campaign move and nothing else."

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